Week 16

Dear Family,
 
This is the Best. Mission. Ever.
 
This was the best week ever. Really, it was. Our Mission President had an interview with both Sister Allen and I which was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (He has 280 missionaries and is insanely busy). We just sat there and listened to him talk. I really wouldn't want to do anything else. He told us so much and gave us so much advice. He told us about his accident at the beginning of his mission. He was attacked by a dog and then cracked his skull on a cement wall after passing out from loss of blood. He was parapalegic and doctors told him he would never be able to sit up again, let alone walk. I'm sure the story is online somewhere if you want to look it up. He got a Priesthood blessing, however that said he would completely recover and be fully healed. He was talking about discouragement, and this is what he said. He told us he had hundreds of emails to respond to from all the missionaries and a whole mission to run, but he could wiggle his finger. So he put all his energy into wiggling his finger until he could sign a baptismal record. And progressed from there. He focused on being able to wiggle his finger though, and didn't focus on all he couldn't do.
 
He also told us he would trust us with anything. It was the best thing to hear ever. It really was. Because he is very intense, and probably the hardest-working person I've ever met, and if you need correcting, he will give it. He's not here to babysit as he says, but he is the perfect leader. As a mission, we really follow him wherever. He told us the average mission finds on average 120 new investigators per week, and when he got here, this mission and some of the lowest numbers in the world. But on Christmas, which is historically the lowest finding week in missions around the world, we found 641 new investigators!!!! The work is really, really hastening. An apostle is coming to the mission in March and he wants us to find 1,000. :) I know these seem to be just numbers, but behind every number is a name and God numbers his children. :) I feel so blessed to be a missionary right now.
 
We met an awesome girl named Naomi this week. She is 18 and Christian, but having a rough time because her parents just split up. We found out she is the daughter of a woman who is best friends with Sister Schmidt! The mother said we could teach Naomi anytime, because when the mom got home from work, Naomi was happy and nice, whereas she's normally angry.
 
I don't even know what to tell you all. We find so many people to teach I don't know which to tell. But I love my mission. This is really the best time of my life.
 
Love you all!
 
Sister Thomson